Apparatus for packaging a soft resilient body



NOV. 1954 H. c. DAVIS ETI'AL APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING A SOFT RESILIENTBGDY Filed Nov. 18, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l N 2, 1954' H. c. DAVIS Er/u. I2,693,304

APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING A SOFT RESiLIENT BODY Filed Nov. 18, 1950 2Sheets-Sheet 2 inserted into the container.

APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING A SOFT RESILIENT BODY Harold C. Davis, WebsterGroves, and Robert A.

Claridge, Afiton, Mo., assignors to Bemis Bro. Bag Company,'St. Louis,Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application November 18, 1950, Serial No.196,498

2 Claims. -(Cl. 226-18) p stood that the principles of the invention areapplicable to the packaging of other soft, resilient materials orarticles, such as mattresses, and in types of containers other thanbags, as for example in boxes or cartons, paper or fabric tubing, etc.

In general, according to the invention, a soft, resilient body ispackagedby compressing the body on opposite sides so as to reducesubstantially the cross section or girth of the body, maintaining thebody so compressed and inserting it into a container having a crosssection larger than the reduced cross-section ofthe body but less thanthe normal cross-section ofthe body, and then removing the pressure onthe body to allow it to expand within the container. The apparatuscomprises a pair of interior container supports and materialconstricting guides, theguides converging from a relatively large en-United States Patent trance for the resilient body to a relatively smalloutlet 7' and carrying on their inner faces conveyor means for movingthe resilient material or body from the large entrance through theconstricting guides and out of the outlet. In passing through theconstricting guides, pressure is applied to opposite faces of theresilient body to compress it in a direction transverse to the directionof movement and substantially to reduce its cross-section,

this condition being maintained while the body is being The container isstripped off the interior supports by the resilient body as it isejected from the guides, so that support of the container is removedwhen the compression is released. Other features will be in partapparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the elements and combinations ofelements, features of construction and -manipulation, and arrangementsof parts which will be exemplified in the structures hereinafterdescribed, and

the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the followingclaims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which one of various' possibleembodiments of the invention is illustrated,

Fig. l is a longitudinal vertical section of an apparatus of thisinvention, a resilient body and a container being shown in dotted lines,parts being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus, parts being broken away;and,

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

- Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views of the drawings.

By means of this invention the packaging of soft, resilient materiaLsuchas blocks of foam rubber, may be efiiciently accomplished in paper bagspacked so that the resilient material is under compression and the bagis under tension. When in this condition, the bag container affords theease of handling of rigid boxes without the added expense, and hasimproved strength over untensioned loosely packed bags.

2,693,304 Patented Nov. 2, 1954 Referring to Fig. l of the drawing,there is shown an apparatus embodying the invention for packing softresilient material 1 into a tight-fitting container 3. The resilientmaterial shown comprises a pair of foam rubber cushions 4 stacked withtheir relatively smooth moldformed surfaces 5 on the outside and theuneven split surfaces 7 on the inside against one another. The containershown is a gusseted paper bag having bag walls 9, gusseted sides 10, abottom 11 and a mouth 13.

The machine comprises a frame including a pair of upright side plates 15rigidly held in spaced relation by a plurality 'of transverse angle bars17. Cantilevered rearwardly from the frame is a platform or table 19 forinitially receiving the resilient material to be packaged. Fixed incantilevered relation and extending forward of the frame are cooperatingupper and lower materialconstricting guides 21 and 23, respectively,these guides also serving as interior container supports. The lowerguide 23 is coplanar and continuous with the rear receiving platform 19,while the upper guide 21 converges in a forward direction with respectto the lower guide from a relatively large entrance 25 to a relativelysmall outlet 27. The arrangement is such that the guides are closeenough together at the rear entrance 25 to provide a relatively largeamount of compression. The guides are adapted to support and hold openthe container as well as guide material into the container.

The rear platform 19 is formed with longitudinal side channel members 29affixed at one end to the respective frame side members 15. A roll 33 isjournalled at the rear end of the platform. A top plate 35 extends frompulley 33 to the rear end of the lower guide 23. The lower guide 23consists of a relatively wide thin plate 37 and carries a second roll 39at its forward end. The plate 37 is fixed to the side plates 15 asindicated at 41. An endless belt 43 is trained around the rolls 33 and39 with upper and lower reaches on opposite sides of the plates 35 and37. The belt 43 is also trained around a driving roll 44 immediatelybelow the fixed end of the plate 37, around a belt-tensioning roll 45and around an idler roll 47 immediately below the forward fixed end ofthe rear platform 19. Rolls, 44, 45 and 47 are all journalled betweenthe frame "side plates 15. The belt-tensioning roll 45 has suitablemeans 49 for adjusting its position to tension the belt. A driving motor51 is coupled to the driving roll 43 by a chain and sprocket drivegenerally indicated at 53.

termediate roll 59. A belt-tensioning roll 63 having adjusting means 65for belt-tensioning purposes is supported by the side plates 15 and adrive roll 67 is provided immediately above the fixed end of the plate55. An endless belt 69 is trained around the rolls 57, 59, 61, 63 and 67so as to have upper and lower reaches on opposite sides of the plate 55and a lower reach 68 extending between the frame side plates 15 andconverging sharply toward the lower belt from the roll 61 toward theguide. plate 55. This reach 68 provides for primary compression ofresilient material .to be packed.

The upper belt 69 is driven by the roll 67, and the roll 67 is in turndriven from the driving roll 44 for the lower belt through gearingindicated at 71 (Fig. 3). The drive and gearing are such that theopposed upper reach of the lower belt and lower reach of the upper beltmove in the direction forward toward the free ends of guide plates 37and 55. As viewed in Fig. 1, the

driving roll 44 rotates counterclockwise so that the lower Y endlessbelt is moved in a clockwise peripheral direction. The upper drivingroll 67 rotates in a clockwise direction so that the upper belt 69 movesin a peripherally counterclockwise direction. Any gearing adapted tocause the rolls 43 and 67 to rotate in opposite directions issatisfactory.

"Operation is asjfdllowsz The machine is started by energizing the motor51 so that the upper and lowerxendless belts 69 and 43 respectively, aredriven with theirjnwardlyfacingreaches 'movingforward' toward;thei'free. EIIdSi'Of. thezcon'stric'ting guides .21 and 23, and'theiroutwardly 'fac'ingreadhes moving rearwardly away from the free, endsoffthe guides. 'It will Zbeunderstoodthe lowerlbelt .43, where "it Iistrained around :the rear; platform, has its .upwardlyjiac- 'ing reachmoving towardtheiframe. .A containerii31is then'slipped over the freeends of j guidesT-21-;.and 13. lathe example shown,'a;paper'bagl5isopened a'tjits .mouth 13 and slipped over 'ithefreeendsgdf ithe -two'guides. The'bag need ,notsbe completely placedrupon fthesupports'butmerely started ..as,the outwardly .fac- .ing rea'ches of theendless'ibe'lts engaging the walls1f9 l the bag draw the bag rearward.on .the .guides .untal .Zthe l bag 'bottomll .engages the. free en'dsofthe guides. Wlt will .be understood themouth. of .the bagjis.suifi'ciently Tlargeto prevent 1 binding withlhe rearwardly diverginggu'idesjbefore :thejbottom of. the bag'.is engaged, .andIthat thei'be'lts may .slip with. respect, to .jthe bag walls 9.

When "the 'bagisnin position.on the guides, Iitlissupgporte'd so as tohave ..a generally rectangular cross .section or predetermineddimensions. It .is preferred 'that .the gir'th of ,thebag' besuch. that..itlhas arelatively elosefffitwith the. supportsfi'for certain.purposes..as will "be' apparent.

'Abody 1. of, soft, resilient materialiis ."then, placed .upon "the rearplatform19. TThis body..oftresilient..mateiiial has .a. normal ,girth.greater. than-'thegirth .ofthe k-bag and preferably is .ofgenerally.rectangulartcross-sedtional shape. One of thecross-sectionalklimenS'ions ofthe'body isgreater .thanla correspondingcross-sectional dimension of lthe supported vbag, .and .the .o'ther-.cross.-sec'tional :dimension ,of thejbody is. less than1the..other,.cor.responding cross-sectional.dimension ofthesupported ba-g. {Ear example, the unreducedhei'ght. or.-.spacing..between thesurfaces '5 of the .bodyj 1 shown ,in'i'Eig. I1' .is greater. than thespacing between thebag walls 9.sppported'.-in. .open .position ontheguide. 1, It -will. be understoodthatseveral .small v pieces ofresilient vmaterial, .such. as .fthe cushions 34, maybe assembled to,provide a .body ;of the.;desired girth and dimensions, or,,.conversely, that Ithe .size of the :bag may be selected with the viewto .thejsize. oft the 'body' to. be packaged.

The "body .11 "is immediately carried i forwardfiromsthe .rear'pla'tforrn by the lower, belt 431 .to the .entrancefiZ'Sv .of .theconstricting .guides21'and 1'23. .The .sharply..convergent reachGS'ofthe .upper ,bltreduccslthe vertical dimension of the resilientbody"1-rather .quicltly as'it moves forward through the-jguide. entranceI'ZS.Asthe rbody 1 passes on between "the. guide. plates.37.;andf55, .afurther reduction. occurs'' but. the re'duction-is less ,than at theentrance. Eventually, the forward .end .-of. .the..compressed'bodypasses; through thet.outlet"27 and engages the'bottorn 11 of the'bag.'As-thebo'dy exitsjfromtjthe guides, 'it pushes the bag forward, and;the support. ofithe "bag is gradually-removed. and "thecompression.,-onjithe body" is gradually "released.

?The resilient body 11 itselfiis. shorter .than; .the. bag.so "that whenit has, completely, passedtthroughfihe,constricting guides a .portion oflthejbag. remains extending over these guides. However, since,the.,guides.' are. relatively "closely spaced at their forward .ends,.and sincejthe. bag mouth is relatively large,comparedtothe.spaeingpfihe forward ends of'the guides,1thebagrea'dily'falls from the supportof" the guides. An operator or conveyormay then take-the bagtostritable bag-closure apparatus "for closing theprojecting top part. thereof.

'- 'It'W'ill be noted theires'ilienflbddyl is-"compressed in a verticaldirection nor'mal' to the -feed" of the conveyors,-or .in. thedimension: that. :is greater. than the:corresponding dimension ofthevba'g. The; compression of ithe" resilient body 1 :by; the:widerflat: guides 'ipriorrtocits. renteringt-the .bag 3,- is such thatthe resilient:bodygassumest a generally rectangular .cross. section,theirdimensionsnofvwhich. are .less than thecorrespondingcross-sectionalgdimensions-of thesupportedbag. .Thatn's,.the girth-.of'. the: resilient body is reduced by compressionso...that..,it isless-thanthe girth of the, supported bag.

In compressing'the res'ilientbodyglinia verticaL'Zdirection, a certainamount of transversehor-izontalexpansion will occur. However; it will"be understood 'lthatiithe. resilient material is of such a nature thatin compressing two amount of bag tension and body compressionis ofcourse determined by therelativeigirths :cfthe bag and unreduced body,hence it is desirable to have the bag closely fit the containersupports, although. this is .not, necessary.

jIt will' be,.understoodrthat verticalgnides may. be placedat'the'lateral edges of the upperiandglower uides' if desired. Also, theresilientmaterialjl. and'thegb ,Srnay both be startedjon,the,apparatus.simultaneouslm th shag tbeingdrawnrearward overiitheguides'.f21;;and 23 while the .body*1 ,is being compressed; at the.entranceiZS .to itheguides.

.This packaging, machine v.iis ideal y suited. to resilient material.@Since the compressed?.body;:is,,more resistant Hthansan uncompressed;resilient. body tov punchingnboth the. container. and the body .arebetter. adapted. to resist damage. from ,punbhingand tearing. .If .thecontainer, is arela'tively rig'idbox ;or c arto n, the compressed;bodyhelps to protect the box-or cartonfrom {collapsing .ulider unduevoutside stress.

in view. of jthe above; .it be seen. that the, ssever,al

' objects ,.of..the inventionare achieved and ,;other..1ad-

tvantageous results attained.

As many. changes,..coul'd ..be.. made .in the.,above;structures withoutdeparting. from .the .scope of .the. invention, it I. is :jntended that.an ,majtter ,cQntaine'd in .the .,-above description. or shown inLthe..accompanying drawingsshall Ibeinterpreted ,as' illustrative andnot.in.all imiting; sense.

J '1. .JAppa-ratus'r for packaging; asoft, resilient; .hodyain .a bag,comprising .-a ;supportihaving, spaced-apart;v sides, -a

' .first.plat'e extending generallyfhorizontally outward as ,a

.cant'ilever from between .the isidesofthe. support, asecond ,plateextending outward-ash cantileverQfrorn between .the .sides.of.;the..suppo rt aboye thefifirst .plate and inclined downward .towardthe free; end of theg firstaplate, thereby definingarconverging passagebetween the, plates irom the support.- .outward -.to. ithe flee. ends..of f .the; plates, a. table ,at; .the level .oflthe. .first plate .on.the.opposite-sideof; .the -;support vtrorn the =plates, ".a first..endless beltq conveyor trainedharoundnthe tableand. ;the-,first;.plate,; means ,ior

'- h guiding the .fi-r'st eonveyor. to have an .upp er generallyhorizontal forward-rnoying reach -trayelli ng oyerlthetable tandtheztopof.thefirst platectoward theifree end.- of;tl 1e first plate, and tohave a lower return reach partpfiwhieh travels ealong the bot-torn of;:first, platenaway from gthe free .end of the first, plate, la -second;endless belheqnyeyor .trained around-:thev secondaplatet-and rrneans;lionguiding .;the second: conveyor -10 nhaye la; .lower forward-movingeach travelling: toward ;the;. fI'fiGF/Qlld'g-Qf the seeondeplate alongthe bottom of the second platetand;ltonhaye an.upper:treturnwreaeh'which etrayels;along ,;thewtop;-.of Tthe..secondiplate;awa3t from the free-:end of:thez.secondg plate, whereby abag may be opened and placed on thegfiree ..ends;0f vt heg-platesgqtobet tdrawnt-rearward .byi theg lpper 'reachwof the:seeondponyeyomandthejlowen reaph of {the first; convey-on; and Wherebyaqtsofhr'resilientbodyymaysbe ;placed ion {the :first; conveyor 1011 :the table carried1:between the first and second conveyors and therlebywert-icallygcompressed, thetcornpressedbody tbeing fiomleyeddnto the'bag and pushingthe bag off the plates.

2. Apparatus asset eforth claim: -1. wherein :the: means forguidingthe;second:conveyorrincludesgguidesiorrguiding thesecond'conveyori toa-have mrearward aportion of tits vf0rwardn'novi-nflower. reach t0: :the. rear; .of; the; wear- :wa-rdend ofi;the-.-secondplate andnnorerincl-inedlthan the second: plate.

,,(Reerences.on itlllowigg pgge) References Cited in the file of thispatent Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name 1 Date Beal Aug. 28, 1900 5Henebergh Aug. 5, 1913 Number Name Date Fisher Nov. 11, 1913 Drolet, Sr.June 5, 1917 Scott Oct. 9, 1928 Young July 31, 1945 Fourness et a1 Dec.31, 1946

